Researchers develop an ergonomic keyboard that eases typing in English, Tagalog and even Taglish

29 Jan 2024

UP Los Baños

In the Philippines nowadays, English and Tagalog languages are alternately used for formal written communications;  in a school setting, English is mostly used, but Tagalog is used for Filipino subjects. Taglish, a mixture of English and Tagalog, is often used for informal written conversations, such as daily conversations and online communication made by students. Either means of type-written communication is highly dependent on the use of computer or laptop keyboards. With the frequent use of the English, Tagalog and Taglish in formal and informal communications online, this study focused on the development of ergonomic keyboard layouts that enable less hand effort when typing in these languages. The study determined the amount of hand effort (in terms of finger strength, alternate use of left and right hands, and alternate use of the fingers) when using the QWERTY keyboard and 12 proposed keyboard layouts. The proposed keyboard layouts were programmed through the use of Python software. The layouts were developed considering factors such as finger strength, finger alternation, and hand alternation. These layouts were evaluated using the Text Analysis (TA) points. TA points were computed based on the previously-mentioned factors and the distance travelled by each finger. A list of 1,000 commonly used English and 1,000 commonly used Tagalog words were collected. These words were inputted into the simulation software and the TA points were automatically computed for each keyboard layout. Finally, of the 12 proposed layouts, layouts 2 and 4 ease hand movement when typing English, Tagalog, and Taglish words as compared to the QWERTY keyboard layout.

Authors: Angelica Louise P. San Juan, Josefa Angelie D. Revilla, Angelo C. Ani, Clarissa M. Pesigan and Alan Marco S. Mercado ( Department of Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology, University of the Philippines Los Baños)

Read the full paper: https://doi.org/10.7232/iems.2022.21.4.598

Researchers develop an ergonomic keyboard that eases typing in English, Tagalog and even Taglish

In the Philippines nowadays, English and Tagalog languages are alternately used for formal written communications;  in a school setting, English is mostly used, but Tagalog is used for Filipino subjects. Taglish, a mixture of English and Tagalog, is often used for informal written conversations, such as daily conversations and online communication made by students. Either means of type-written communication is highly dependent on the use of computer or laptop keyboards. With the frequent use of the English, Tagalog and Taglish in formal and informal communications online, this study focused on the development of ergonomic keyboard layouts that enable less hand effort when typing in these languages. The study determined the amount of hand effort (in terms of finger strength, alternate use of left and right hands, and alternate use of the fingers) when using the QWERTY keyboard and 12 proposed keyboard layouts. The proposed keyboard layouts were programmed through the use of Python software. The layouts were developed considering factors such as finger strength, finger alternation, and hand alternation. These layouts were evaluated using the Text Analysis (TA) points. TA points were computed based on the previously-mentioned factors and the distance travelled by each finger. A list of 1,000 commonly used English and 1,000 commonly used Tagalog words were collected. These words were inputted into the simulation software and the TA points were automatically computed for each keyboard layout. Finally, of the 12 proposed layouts, layouts 2 and 4 ease hand movement when typing English, Tagalog, and Taglish words as compared to the QWERTY keyboard layout.

Authors: Angelica Louise P. San Juan, Josefa Angelie D. Revilla, Angelo C. Ani, Clarissa M. Pesigan and Alan Marco S. Mercado ( Department of Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology, University of the Philippines Los Baños)

Read the full paper: https://doi.org/10.7232/iems.2022.21.4.598